Thursday, March 28, 2013

It’s been a long, long
time since a movie created as much pre-release speculation within the horror
community as the Evil Dead remake.
Probably since House of 1000 Corpses.
Sure it’s only a remake of one of the most beloved horror flicks of the
modern era, but none of the other remakes have had this kind of hype. We all collectively groaned when it was
announced. We all caught our breath
when the trailer actually looked pretty kick ass. Then opinions diverged when stories about heavy reliance on
practical effects, NC-17 ratings, Diabl-oh-for f**k’s-sake-not-that-Juno-bitch
Cody, and audience reactions at SXSW started being bandied about. One camp said that this was going to be an
act of heresy and a crime against the genre.
A large contingent kept the faith that this movie was going to blow
everybody away. Then there were those
like me who went in with neutral expectations.
So, how was it? Among the group
of Netherspawn I saw it with, the opinion was unanimous… groovy.

Synopsis: Are you kidding me? It’s Evil f’n Dead! It’s
“spam in a cabin”as Joe Bob would say.
If you don’t know the basic story for this one, you are hereby ordered
to report to Remedial Horror 101.

When you talk about
remakes, the “is it better than the original” question always comes up. Personally, I find that to be a fairly
useless argument. They’re not in
competition. But while I try to take
remakes on their own merit and review them as their own entity, let’s face it,
a comparison to the original is impossible not to make. At their best, remakes respectfully take the
basic premise of the original work and present it in the context of the
current tastes and sensibilities of the movie going audience. You know, like NOTLD ’90. At their worst, they try to rewrite
everything that was good about the original and shit on a classic film’s
legacy. That NOES debacle is a good
example. Evil Dead is the former. If the original film had never come out, and
that same story was being told for the first time today, this is exactly what
we’d get. It has enough of the spirit
of the original to make it familiar, but enough of its own identity to make it
fresh. It also has just enough
callbacks (ranging from brilliant to hamfisted) to Raimi’s classic to satisfy
the fans.

One thing I liked was the
addition of a little more backstory on the relationship between the five young
people in the cabin. One of the big
plot holes in a lot of horror flicks is the whole “why didn’t they get the hell
out of dodge at the first sign of weirdness” question. That issue is dealt with in a clever way
that makes complete sense.

Another change that I
think was a smart move was not having Ash as a character. Ok, ok.
I know Ash IS Evil Dead. Hear me
out though. Let’s be honest for a
second. If they had an Ash in this
flick, it would have gone over like a fart in church no matter who they
cast. No one would have accepted anyone
in that role. Bruce Campbell’s iconic
performance would have been impossible to duplicate, so I think not even trying
was the smartest thing the filmmakers could have done. Instead, the basic components and trademarks
of the Ash character were dispersed among the other characters.

Speaking of which, those
characters are portrayed by a capable but uneven cast. The standout is relative newcomer Jane Levy
as Mia. She killed it. It’s not a spoiler to tell you that she
becomes possessed at one point since it’s in the trailer. She’s very good as a normal human, but she’s
phenomenal as a deadite. Shiloh
Fernandez, who you might remember from Deadgirl, plays her brother and is,
um…less impressive. He tries to do a
little Bruce style mugging, and it just doesn’t play out well. He’s not bad per se, he just seems like he
can’t decide whether he wants to play the role as cool or emotional. He ends up settling on neither. Lou Taylor Pucci, who you most likely don’t
remember from an underrated flick called Carriers, is the strongest male in the
cast. He’s almost as good as Levy
actually. Jessica Lucas and Elizabeth
Blackmore round out the cannon fodder.
They’re good enough when they’re normal humans, but they really come
into their own when the spirits and viscera start to fly.

The biggest difference
between the remake and the original is the nature of the deadites.
In the original, the deadites are identified as demons, but they are
more Bava-style monster demon than Friedkin-style satanic demon. In the remake, they’re played a little more
explicitly, particularly Mia. She still
maintains the taunting spirit of the deadites in the original, but a bit more
Regan-esque. A little more “your mother
sucks cocks in hell” than “we’re gonna get you, time to go to sleep.” It’s an interesting new twist on the
formula, and I thought it definitely added a welcome new element to the proceedings.

The main thing that sets
this movie apart, and what I’m sure most people will be raving about, is the
gore. In an age of neutered horror,
Evil Dead doesn’t skimp on the violence.
This is the goriest flick I’ve seen in a theater since Hatchet 2, and
the goriest flick to get a major theater release since…I don’t even know. Suffice it to say that Evil Dead is a balls
to the wall gorefest. It even satisfied
my bloodlust. Hell, it even got a
cringe from me. Yes, I cringed. The last time that happened in a theater was
the needle pit scene in Saw 2. It does
a good job of walking the same fine line between playing it straight and going
for splatstick that the original did.
While I officially call their “no CGI” claim into question (actually,
I’m calling bullshit), 99% of the effects are practical and look
fantastic. I could keep gushing about
the bloody effects (see what I did there?), but I don’t want to get into
specifics. It’s best not to know what’s
coming. If you are a gorehound like me,
then the grue alone makes this an absolute must see.

It’s definitely not a
perfect flick though. It has a new
school cinematography aesthetic, especially the third person shaky cam, which
you all know doesn’t sit well with me. I’m
not talking about the Sam Raimi trademark traveling shots either, although
those are there. The camera is way too wobbly when there is absolutely no call
for it, and it only gets shakier and more spastically edited as the action gets
more intense. Unlike in its
trembly-handed bretheren, however, the camera is occasionally allowed to linger
on a particular gag long enough to make your date queasy. While some of the jump scares are deftly
handled, many of them are way too telegraphed.

At about the three quarter
mark, something so mind numbingly stupid happens that it nearly turned me
against the movie instantly. I mean,
this was dumb as hell. I’m gonna go
ahead and blame that idea on Diablo Cody.
Only she could come up with something so mind numbingly lame. It became a major plot point too! There are about 5 minutes where you’ll
facepalm repeatedly and think “are they really going in this direction?” You’ll know it’s coming when you see the
“MacGuyver” montage. That’s all I’ll
give away. Don’t worry though, after
this detour into “are you f**king kidding me?” territory, the flick kicks into
overdrive and rides a river of red all the way to the finale.

What really put a black
eye on the flick is the score. My god
was it bad. There were a couple of
times where the overdramatic music almost worked. Almost. Most of the time
it felt like Danny Elfman trying to be scary.
It just sounded goofy as hell and distracted me from the movie. Then they kept repeating this siren-like
noise that didn’t fit into the scene at all.
With the original providing such a good template for sound design, how
did it go so horribly wrong here?

Random Thought #1: Make
sure you stay through the credits.
There is a stinger. You will
like it. I guarantee.

Random Thought #2: Yes,
the Oldsmobile managed to make its obligatory cameo.

Random Thought #3: SLIGHT
SPOILER ALERT! At one point a nail gun
comes into play. I had the same problem
here that I always do with nail guns in movies; where in the green hell is the
damn air compressor? I know there are
self contained ones available, but this wasn’t one of those. That always drives me crazy. Attention to detail people!

There are probably a lot
of people who won’t like this movie.
The majority of them will point to how different it is than the original
as the source of their ire. A lot of
them probably have their mind made up before ever seeing it too. Yes, this is Evil Dead for a different age. I prefer the filmmaking style of the
original too. But if you can get past
the fact that it’s a remake of one of your favorite movies, what you’ll find is
an all out splatterfest that manages to deliver some good scares, create a few
genuinely tense moments, and be a lot of fun.
Did I mention the gore? While
the original arguably may have had more heart, you can’t deny that the remake
has guts. It manages to be its own
cinematic experience, while maintaining enough of the classic spirit we all
love that I feel it’s a worthy companion piece. Plus, it’s bloody as hell.
Not sure if I brought that up or not.
8 Swallowed Souls out of 10.
Nathan says check it out.

Monday, March 4, 2013

There was a time when I thought I was never meant to
actually see The Casket Creatures play.
Since the demise of The Spectremen, there had been a ghoul rock void in
Atlanta. When I heard that there was a
new horror punk band on the block
carrying the banner, I knew I needed to see them. Fate kept stepping in the damn way though. The first time I tried to see them, I had to
leave the show before they went on. The
second time, they went on early and I got there just as they left the
stage. The third time…um, I was too
drunk to remember why I missed them that time.
Then, one glorious night at the equally glorious Clermont Lounge, I finally
caught their set. Since then, I’ve seen the ghouls from Gainesville quite a few times, both headlining and opening for horror rock
heavyweights like Wednesday 13 and Michale Graves, and they’ve quickly become
one of my favorite Atlanta bands.

There are really only two kinds of horror punk bands out
there; those who are influenced by The Misfits and those who rip off The
Misfits. After all, they did create the
genre. While the Casket Creatures
definitely wear their Misfits influence on their sleeve, often covering Halloween
and/or Vampira, they are not a straight rip off…not that there’s anything
wrong with that. They’re more spiritual
kin with some of the modern horror bands that add more of an aggressive tone
and an “epic” spin to the traditional
formula. Bands like The Other, The
Crimson Ghosts, or Blitzkid.

Listening to the Creatures play, you can pick out
distinctive elements and styles that make up their sound. The dual guitar attack, with Jamie Robertson
riffing like a hybrid beast of punk intensity and metal power and Derek Obscura
bringing the glam rock sleaze factor, makes for a potent jolt of
adrenaline. Ryan Howard is an old
school horror punk crooner, but he knows how to bring a more aggressive vocal
style to the proceedings when the moment is right. The rhythm section, comprised of Drew Chandler on melodic yet punishing bass and his brother Bradley Chandler beating the drums, and you, into submission, anchors it
all. There’s also an indescribable yet
undeniable Southern flavor to their music.
It’s not so much in their playing style, it’s just that extra little
swagger and raunch that only us lunatics from the sticks can muster. Like I always say, there’s no psycho like
Southern psycho.

Their first cd, Tales From The Unknown, is a hell of an
album, containing live staples like Agnes, Evil Comes Home, and Bad 2
Hearse. The band has changed since
Tales’ release in 2011, however. Only
Ryan and Jamie remain from the original lineup. Since then, the band has become a better-stitched together
monstrosity…and a meaner one at that.
Their new album, Sex, Blood, and Rock n’ Roll, is due out very soon on
GNO Records, and will feature the new line up.
I’ve heard a lot of the new tracks live, including my personal favorite
Lizzie’s Song, and I’m intrigued to hear how those work on cd. I have a feeling that SD&R&R will do
a much better job of capturing the energy that the Creatures bring to the stage
in a live environment. You can check
out a few of the band’s tunes HERE, including two (Curse of the Mummy’s Tomb
and Bats, Blood, & Bitches) off of the upcoming album. Mummy’s Tomb is also available for download
HERE, along with their new T-shirt.

The horror punk community worldwide is starting to take
notice of what Atlanta audiences have known for a while now. Last year, The Casket Creatures were invited
to play the Ghoul’s Night Out festival alongside legends like Blitzkid and
Mister Monster. They recently won the
Band of the Year, Best Up And Coming Band, and Most Anticipated Album awards at
Horror-Punks.com. Their new video, for
the track Curse of the Mummy’s Tomb, debuted last Monday and scored over 700
views on its first day. Speaking of the
video, here it is for your viewing pleasure.
Take one part Abbott and Costello, one part Scooby Doo, and one part Dig
Up Her Bones, and you’ve got the idea.
It’s a fun homage to the classic horror of yesteryear. Check it out…

See, I told you it was killer. So, now that I’ve introduced you to the
boys, go tell your friends. Hell, tell
your enemies too. You can follow the
exploits of The Casket Creatures at their facebook page HERE, and expect more
band news here on SOC as the album’s release date shambles towards us with that
bloodthirsty gleam in its one remaining eye…